Bone marrow vasculature advanced in vitro models for cancer and cardiovascular research
Marzia Campanile1, Leonardo Bettinelli1,2, Camilla Cerutti2
1Laboratory of Cardiovascular Research, IRCCS MultiMedica, Milan, Italy.
Insights
This review covers human-specific in vitro models of bone marrow vasculature. These models are crucial for studying cell trafficking in cardiovascular disease and cancer research.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Biology
- Cancer Biology
- Vascular Biology
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Cardiometabolic diseases and cancer are leading global health concerns.
- These diseases share common molecular pathways, offering therapeutic targets.
- The bone marrow vasculature is critical for cell trafficking in regeneration and metastasis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current knowledge on in vitro models of bone marrow vasculature.
- To highlight the need for human-specific models for research.
- To focus on models relevant to cardiovascular and cancer research.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of existing in vitro bone marrow vasculature models.
- Analysis of models for their relevance to cardiovascular regeneration and cancer metastasis.
- Emphasis on human-specific endothelial cell-lined models.
Main Results:
- Existing animal models have limitations for studying human bone marrow vasculature.
- Human-specific in vitro models are essential for understanding cellular trafficking.
- These models facilitate research into shared mechanisms between cardiometabolic diseases and cancer.
Conclusions:
- Human-specific in vitro bone marrow vasculature models are vital research tools.
- These models advance understanding of cell trafficking in disease.
- Developing and utilizing these models can lead to novel preventive and therapeutic strategies.
Abstract:
Cardiometabolic diseases and cancer are among the most common diseases worldwide and are a serious concern to the healthcare system. These conditions, apparently distant, share common molecular and cellular determinants, that can represent targets for preventive and therapeutic approaches. The bone marrow plays an important role in this context as it is the main source of cells involved in cardiovascular regeneration, and one of the main sites of liquid and solid tumor metastasis, both characterized by the cellular trafficking across the bone marrow vasculature. The bone marrow vasculature has been widely studied in animal models, however, it is clear the need for human-specific in vitro models, that resemble the bone vasculature lined by endothelial cells to study the molecular mechanisms governing cell trafficking. In this review, we summarized the current knowledge on in vitro models of bone marrow vasculature developed for cardiovascular and cancer research.
